Enfield Man Dies In Freak Accident On Mass Pike

Paul M. Oliver was always the first person to help somebody else, his friends and family said.

So when his car spun out of control Sunday evening on Route 90 in western Massachusetts on the way back from a New England Patriots' game, it was just like him to worry about others first.

Oliver and one of his passengers stepped out of their 2005 Honda Pilot to make sure that no other vehicles were involved. Suddenly, a GMC Suburban slid toward them on the snow covered Massachusetts Turnpike. Oliver leaped over a bridge to avoid being struck, and in a freak accident, plummeted 50 to 60 feet to his death on the rocks below the Quaboag River Overpass, police said.

"He was the most generous person," his sister-in-law, Jennifer Manca, said Monday. "He was the first person to help anybody."

Oliver, 29, of Enfield, apparently believed that he was jumping over a guardrail, and was not aware he was on a bridge, Massachusetts State Police said. They are continuing their investigation into the 6:35 p.m. accident.

The GMC Suburban, operated by Herb Albertson, 38, of Quincy, struck the side of Oliver's car. No one was injured in Oliver's vehicle, but one juvenile passenger in Albertson's truck suffered minor injuries, police said.

Oliver was a finance manager at Lia Honda in Enfield. He and his wife, Melissa Elliott Oliver, had planned to celebrate their second wedding anniversary this Thursday, Manca said. He also leaves his mother, Merry Oliver, of Enfield, and his father, Paul Almeida, of Richmond, Va., and his sisters, Candise and Melanie Oliver.

His mother cared for over 20 foster children, and he helped her with that endeavor, accepting all of them as family, his friends said. One year, he took some of the kids to Disney World, and he would always have them to his house for Christmas, said Chris Raymond, a close friend.

"He always loved kids," Raymond said. "He had a big heart."

Because of his love for children, his family is asking that donations be made to the Make A Wish Foundation in Massachusetts to grant a Boston sports wish for a child, Raymond said.

"He was just a great guy. Never was without a smile on his face," said a manager at Lia Honda, who declined to give his full name.

Oliver, his uncle and two friends were returning from a New England Patriots game, for which he has partial season's tickets.

"He was a huge fan," Manca said, adding that he and the others were excited the Patriots had won again.

"Paul was an avid sports fan and devoted Patriot and Red Sox fan," said Raymond, who was in the car at the time of the accident.

Raymond declined to discuss the details of the accident, other than what was in the police report.

"Every day was the best day of his life. He lived life to the fullest," Raymond said. "His unforgettable charm and his smile will be missed."